Fuck.
As soon as Gavin entered the precinct, he knew it was back. The plastic prick was sitting at the desk Gavin had reluctantly assigned him, which unfortunately had to be right in front of his. The android was typing away at the computer intently, his gaze fixed on the computer screen. He didn't look away from the screen when Gavin went over to his desk and sat down.
It was strange to see Conan back. He looked perfectly new, as if he hadn't just got a bullet to the head yesterday. After two minutes of awkward silence, Gavin cleared his throat.
"Hey, tin can."
"Hello, Detective Reed." Conan replied, not turning away. His fingers sped across the keyboard, the sound of keys clicking softly filling the air.
"What are you doing?"
"While waiting for your arrival to the station, I have been informed that the man yesterday had shot himself dead. They had preserved the body. I analyzed the man's tattoos and found out that he had most definitely belonged to a gang called 'Crimson Thirium'. Conducting further research, it appears that the gang he had been part of is currently being led by someone under the alias of 'The Red Hand'. I was registering the information into a digital file."
Gavin was only subconsciously listening to Conan speak. There was something strange about the way Conan spoke, he noticed. Usually, he would speak in a somewhat sarcastic and cold manner. Right now, there was absolutely nothing in his tone. It was deprived of anything that made him sound like him, besides from his voice obviously. He seemed to sound more.. robotic.
Perhaps this has something to do with his death? Gavin wasn't sure, but he definitely wasn't going to ask Conan about it. He didn't want to appear interested in the android in any way.
"Detective?" Conan's voice broke through Gavin's thoughts. "Were you paying attention at all while I was talking at all?"
"What- yes!" Gavin snapped. "Don't question me and make sure I'm listening to you as if this is a classroom, dipshit. Now, go make me a coffee."
Conan turned to look at Gavin for the first time that day. Seconds passed before the android nodded, standing up and walking over to the break room to fulfill Gavin's request obediently.
There was something definitely wrong here. If Gavin had ordered Conan do something that he would be perfectly able to do on his own, he would tell Gavin to do it himself. Now, Conan was just submissively following instructions. It was strange, but Gavin wasn't complaining. Perhaps the android finally decided to do what it was designed to do: follow orders.
Soon, Conan returned with a steaming hot cup of coffee. He went over to Gavin's desk, holding it out to him. Gavin slowly took the coffee, taking a sip. He mumbled something that Conan didn't catch while the android went to sit back down at his desk.
Ten minutes of silence passed, Conan going back on the computer while Gavin sorting out papers on his desk. Gavin also hopped onto his computer, realizing that he got a new email. Opening it up, he briefly skimmed the page.
"Jesus Christ.."
Conan glanced away from the computer screen, looking over at Gavin. "What is it, Detective?"
"Three androids were just shot and killed at a bank along with two other humans. There were three shooters." Gavin reported out. "It must've been a bank robbery."
"We should check it out." Conan decided, getting up.
Gavin nodded, grabbing his jacket and slipping it on before heading out back to the parking lot. Conan followed him, walking side by side with the shorter man. Gavin unlocked his car and got into the driver's seat, Conan entering the passenger's seat as usual.
The car ride was silent, neither of the two spoke. The only sound that was audible was the car's engine as the vehicle rolled down the streets and to the reported address of the bank. The bank slowly came into view, flickering police table surrounding the perimeter. Several officers were standing outside, keeping the curious public away from the building.
Leaving the car, the detective and android approached the entrance to the bank. The inside of the bank was in horrible condition. Everything was tipped over and knocked down, the limp bodies of unfortunate victims scattered. The windows were smashed, glass shards glinting in the sunlight as it reflected on the glass. A mixture of blue and red blood was covering the floor as if it were paint.
Gavin muttered profanities to himself as he glanced around. "Whatever the hell happened here, it wasn't pretty."
"Excellent observation, Detective. I'm sure nobody else has figured that out yet." Conan replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
There was the Conan that pissed Gavin off.
"Shut the fuck up, tin can." Gavin grumbled. "Why don't you go analyze something or some shit like that.."
"That's what I've been doing, Detective." The android was kneeled down, examining one of the human bodies that had been shot. Crimson blood was smeared on his fingers.
"You're so fucking disgusting." Gavin groaned. "Stop lickin' shit.."
"It's how I analyze samples, Detective Reed." Conan's LED flashed multiple times as he scanned the victim's body.
[ANALYZING...]
[Sync in Progress...]
[Sync Complete]
Maiya Welshman
- Gender: Female
- Age: 36
- Cause of death: Bullet penetrated the left lung; internal bleeding.
This woman was as old as Gavin when she died, Conan noticed. This woman had her entire life ahead of her but it was all stopped by a single bullet. He hoped Gavin wouldn't die as young as her, even if he found the detective extremely irritable and problematic to work with.
Gavin was standing off to the side, letting the android do all the work as usual. He had absolutely no interest in the case, but that was why he had an android. The android could do everything and he could take partial credit for it. A great partnership, obviously.
Conan stood up, finished with identifying and scanning all the victims. He had identified one of the robbers among the dead, but there were three reported with weapons.
So two of them could've still be inside the building.
Conan stood up. "We must leave immediately. There is one dead robber here, but there are still two others. They could very well be currently inside the building."
The detective frowned. "Well, we should get out then-"
Gavin was interrupted when approaching footsteps grew loud in his ears. There was the sound of two pistols cocking. Conan whipped around to see two masked men aiming their guns at them.
"Are you armed?" One of the men demanded.
Conan glanced over at Gavin, who started to pull out his pistol and tossed it away out of reach. They were now unarmed and had to resort to using their fists as weapons. That wasn't a problem for Conan though, but he wasn't so confident about Gavin.
Conan's LED flashed yellow as he analyzed the situation. There was a 89% probability that the men would shoot Gavin and give him a fatal wound. Conan wasn't going to allow that to happen.
BANG!
The two pistols went off. Conan moved swiftly, rushing in front of Gavin and wrapped his arms around the detective to shield him. Two bullets pierced through his chest. Thirium splashed onto the ground and onto Gavin's clothes. While the two shooters were distracted by Conan, he darted to the side and retrieved his gun, raising it at their attackers' heads and firing.
The bullets hit their mark, the two men collapsing. Gavin was still for a few moments, regaining his breath. Conan was slumped on the ground, his LED an urgent red.
"What happened? Where did they hit you?" Gavin quickly rushed over to him, checking over the android's body. Blue blood was leaking out of Conan's chest wounds at a worryingly quick pace, forming a small pool around him.
"One of the bullets hit my t-thirium pump," He managed to say. "but your safety is more important than mine." Conan looked up at Gavin. "There was a 89% probability that you would be shot and receive a fatal wound. I-It wouldn't matter if my system shut down, for I am completely.. r-replaceable."
"You still have to take care of yourself, dumbass!" Gavin snapped. "How much longer until shutdown?"
"Approximately three minutes, Detective." Conan laid his hands on his chest. "Don't worry though, I-I can easily be replaced." His voice was growing distorted.
"Fuck.." Gavin cursed, holding Conan's head in his hands. "I-I could try to get you back to the station to be repaired-"
"I won't make it." Conan interrupted him. "It'll take too long.. unless you know how to r-repair a thirium pump in approximately t-three minutes, there's no chance of m-me avoiding system shutdown."
Conan had removed his hands from his wounds to lay them on the ground, leaving streaks of thirium on the marble floor. His eyes seemed to be struggling to stay open. Gavin, completely helpless, just sat there as he watched the android slowly die in his hands.
[00:01:07 UNTIL SHUTDOWN]
Gavin shut his eyes. This was all his fucking fault. The android was going to die again because of him.
Why did he care in the first place though?
"Detective?"
Gavin opened his eyes. "What is it?"
"This isn't your fault, Detective." Conan seemed to be reading Gavin's expression. "I-I was bound to sacrifice myself for you eventually. I'm a machine that can be easily replaced, it w-won't matter."
[00:00:51 UNTIL SHUTDOWN]
"You didn't have to protect me, idiot!" Gavin's voice was raised.
"I wanted to protect you, Detective."
"I don't care about what you want. You don't always need to be sacrificing yourself for me."
Conan gave the detective a small, bittersweet smile. It was strange to see the mostly emotionless android have an expression like this, especially now. "Human lives matter more than android ones. Humans cannot b-be replaced. Androids can."
"Guess you're right about that one, tin can."
"I-I didn't think you would try to make light in this matter."
Gavin scoffed, his gaze focusing on Conan's bloodstained uniform instead of his face. He didn't reply, he had nothing to say for once.
"T-thirty-two more seconds, Detective." Conan's voice would not even be recognizable by now. The pitch of his voice had grown so deep and distorted, it almost sounded demonic.
"Every time you die, you're just going to come back?" Gavin asked. "Immortality?"
"In a way.." Conan responded. "I-I change slightly every time I get replaced t-though. My stability resets.. so if I had any software issues, t-they would be fixed."
Conan's eyes were closed, his hands resting on the floor. His LED flashed red before turning off completely. Gavin slowly laid the android's head on the ground, setting down his gun and staring down at the android.
"Conan?"
There was no response.